Obakeng’s (my husband) favorite food is oxtail with rice and beans. This man would eat it every day if I allowed it. So, this past weekend I decide to make some for him since he’s been begging for it for the past three weeks. The dish came out so well that I had to share it.

How I prepared the meat
The night before I defrosted the oxtail. I poured some vinegar and squeezed some lime juice on it while it was defrosting.
*The following day, I scrubbed down the oxtail with 2 halves of sour orange (this step isn’t necessary but as a Haitian I must)*Make sure to squeeze the excess sour orange juice before using to scrub down the meat.Lime is on the left, sour orange is on the right
*Rinse the meat well after the scrubbing.
*Pour browning on the meat (this is used to give the meat its dark color)
*Spice the meat. I used a mixture of oxtail seasoning, garlic powder, adobo, and all spice.
*Allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours.
After the meat is done marinating, it must be browned before cooking it (this time I used a pressure cooker, I’ve done it in a slow cooker too).
*Brown the meat in a skillet (I like to use olive oil for the browning). You can also brown the meat in the pressure cooker. Make sure to not allow any of the liquids to get in while you are browning the meat.Obakeng browning the meat
*After you’ve browned all the meat place it in the pressure cooker.
* Now pour in your veggies and herbs (I used butter beans, carrots, onion, thyme)Vegetables I chopped up prior to browning the meatAll of the ingredients in the pressure cooker
*Pour in 4 cups of water.
*Add one teaspoon of Dragon Breath piman lakay (this is a Haitian spicy marinade)
*After all of your ingredients are in, close the pressure cooker based on its intructions. Make sure to follow the directions of your pressure cooker on how to cook food in it. We cooked our oxtail for 1.5 hours. It was falling off the bone, YUM!!!

Now for the rice and beans.
*Boil the red beans until they give in to slight pressure.I boiled the beans for about 1 hour on high. I made sure to keep adding water in the pot so that it did not burn. I also I wanted to maintain at least 4 cups of water in the pot since I would be using this water later to cook the rice in. I added a clove of garlic and some salt to the water. Don’t use too much salt since you will adding some seasoning to the rice water
*After the beans are done cooking, separate the beans from the liquids (DO NOT throw out the water)
*In a separate pot pour in some oil (I use enough olive oil to cover the entire bottom of the pot in a thin coating), and your chopped up garlic (make sure to not let the garlic burn).
*Pour in the beans (without the water). I also like to add some dried baby shrimp (aka tri tri in Kreyol).
*Add in some adobo (season to taste) and your parsley and thyme.
*Stir then allow the mixture to cook for about 5 mins.
*Add in the left over liquids from the beans (about 4 cups). Allow to boil and then add in about a 1 inch wide piece of cream of cocoa. The white stuff is the creme of cocoa. Make sure to test the taste of the water just in case it may need some more seasoning (again spice to your taste)
*Once the creme of cocoa has melted completely pour in the rice.I used Basmati rice.
I rinse the rice twice before adding it to the mixture.
*Boil on medium-high until 90% of the water has been absorbed.
OK, so this part may not appeal to some but this is how I’ve always seen rice prepared, therefore how I’ve always prepared it. This technique works very well so don’t knock it until you try it.
*Once the water has dried (there is no obvious boiling), cover the rice with a platic bag (this is called toufe) and put the heat on low. This will in effect steam the rice thus allowing it to cook more. I like my rice grains to be separate (non sticky) and this technique achieves very well.
*Allow the rice to cook for another 45 minutes. The rice will look like this when it’s finished.

The day after the BC I went to Regis salon in Stamford, CT to have it shaped.6 months after the BCJanuary 2009August 2010Wet hair

Hair after rollersetting.

Hair straightened with via Dominican Blow out.
My husband trimmed my hair for me about 2 weeks prior to taking this picture. I think he did an awesome job.My hands are where I would like my hair to be in two years.

One last pic from the front. I went out to dinner with a few friends in downtown Stamford, CT. We ate at Chavin restaurant located on Atlantic street, the food was amazing, the service on the other hand was horrible. Our waitress treated us like a nuissance and their preference for the other dinners was a bit too obvious. Oh well, won’t be eating there again.

I guess this will serve as my welcome post. The main purpose of this blog is to track my hair growth and hair care practices. Periodically, I will include non hair related items (maybe things about my life and such). I also hope that this blog will serve as a diary of sorts for my cooking adventures. Wish me luck!